trustworthiness of qualitative studies

trustworthiness

accurate representation of a phenomenon

4 characteristics of trustworthiness

credibility
transferability
dependability
confirmability

credibility

accurate representation of a phenomenon from the participants perspectives, degree to which the results are plausible: internal validity

methods of credibility

prolonged engagement, strong interview questions, member checking, triangulation

Transferability

applying the info from the study to other situations: external validity

methods of Transferability

thick description, purposive sampling

dependability

consistency in the data across time, participants, & researchers: reliability

methods of dependability

multiple coders, code-recode, audit trail

confirmability

data reflects the views of the participants and not the researchers: objectivity

methods of confirmabililty

saturation, reflexivity

creditability can be influenced by

participant bias: the participant is uncomfortable with being observed or asking questions so they behave in ways that are not like themselves

prolonged engagement

the researcher spends enough time with participants to gain familiarity, trust, and understanding of their culture and beliefs

triangulation

using multiple resources and methods to verify data, several methods lead to the same results: can be done by using interviews, focus groups, participant observation & use of multiple coders

Example of triangulation

in a study on walking outdoors after a stroke researchers 1st conducted individual interviews and based on responses created a structured interview, then created focus groups.

member checking

participants are regularly and repeatedly queried to ensure that the researcher's impressions are accurate

example of member checking

during initial interviews researchers ask follow up questions or repeat statements back to the participants to ensure the info collected is correct

thick description

detailed analysis of the phenomenon of interest, depth of the content is more important than the amount. Info about context & emotional reactions

example of thick description

Three ppl highlighted the importance of returning work w/ colleagues that they were familiar with and that their job offer did not have any conditions or provisions. Rachel, boss said: "No matter how, where and when, she is coming back to our company." This strong commitment from the employer gave the participants confidence about their return to work.

if the researcher does a good job of purposive sampling

transferability applies becuz the participants are able to provide relevant & insightful data

example of transferabiity in purposive sampling

In a study examining the participant experience of the Let's Get Organized Group Intervention, purposive sampling was used by recruiting individuals who had participated in the intervention. Other therapists interested in using this intervention could then transfer the insights gained in this study, primarily that time management is hard work, but when routines were established, participants felt they had more control over their daily life.

multiple coders

2 or more researchers code independently and then compare their results

code-recode

when there is a single researcher they code transcripts, set them aside for some time, then come back and recode

audit trail

collection of documents from a qualitative study that can be used to authenticate the researcher's data analysis. researchers keep transcripts, field notes, coding documents, diaries and other data & describe the data collection & analysis in the manuscript

external audit

1 or more ppl who are independent from the researchers reviewing the audit trail, reviews the records to confirm that the process was thorough & that the findings were consistent w/ the data

reflexivity

researchers identify & state their own experiences & views on the research topic

content analysis

systematic technique used to draw inferences & coding textual material: involves counting frequency of words to analyze meaning, relationships, themes, or categories within data

negative case analysis

explain conflicts